Big might actually be an understatement. The Song became the biggest hit from the album, helping Seal top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and establishing him into a household name overnight. As with U2’s song, “Kiss From A Rose” was big, gothic, and open to wide and imaginative interpretation. However, Seal remains coy on what any of it means. 

In 2020, he told American Songwriter: “I have avoided explaining these lyrics for over 25 years. I am not going to start doing it now.” That helped its placement in the film, with fans able to project the idea of Batman onto the song, as well as the idea of Bruce Wayne opening up to Dr. Meridian, as he does in the movie. “There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea / And you became the light on the dark side of me” Seal sings at one point, while the lyrics also mention how “A light hits the gloom on the gray.”

To date Seal has sold eight million albums but he’s never forgotten Schumacher’s role in that success and was among those to pay tribute following his passing. “I love you Joel,” Seal said at the time. “Thank you very much for everything that you’ve done for me. One day, we’ll all meet again back home.”

The Wu-Tang Clan Connection

While U2 and Seal provided the musician yin and yang producers had likely hoped Prince and Michael Jackson would achieve on the first movie, the Batman Forever soundtrack was so much more than those two headliners. Produced by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, it featured an eclectic mix of musicians, many of whom have remained as revered today as they were back in their ‘90s heyday. There were contributions from more commercial acts of the period like Brandy and The Offspring, as well as critical darlings like PJ Harvey, Mazzy Star, and Sunny Day Real Estate, which made it something of a time capsule of the era.

The Offspring recorded a special version of The Damned’s “Smash It Up” for the album while there were equally memorable covers by the likes of Massive Attack, who performed The Marvelettes’ “The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game” with Tracey Thorn, and INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence whose brooding version of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger” offered a taste of the solo career fans tragically never got to see.

The Flaming Lips also appeared with “Bad Days,” providing the perfect soundtrack to Edward Nigma’s life prior to becoming a supervillain while Method Man reunited with Wu Tang Clan cohort RZA for “The Riddler,” a slick slice of ‘90s rap that finds the lyricist and occasional actor in good form. The soundtrack’s other notable highlight came courtesy of Nick Cave and the song “There Is A Light,” which finds the Aussie rocker on suitably grungy form. Though Cave’s incredible back catalog means it’s a song he often overlooks, “There Is A Light” remains a firm favorite among his fanbase.